Julie Highwind and the Philosophy of Fire
by Katashka
Summary: In the chaotic world of EBERRON, a sword-toting young woman and a shifter devotee of Dol Dorn race against a vicious werewolf to decide the fate of a nation miles away.
1. Prologue: The Ruins of the Wayside

_A/N: This takes place in an AU version of Eberron that has no alignment or resurrection spells and effects._

* * *

Blood stained the oak floors of what had once been the Wayside Temple of Dol Dorn. The wooden altar lay cracked in two, snapped in half by supernatural strength. Freshly dead acolytes were strewn around the room, crimson fluid seeping from their motionless bodies.

Crouching next to one of the bodies was something inhuman.

The creature was some tall, misshapen hybrid of man and wolf. Save for a pair of pants stretched far too wide, he was nude. Blood stained his claws and black fur as he searched the corpse's robes. He let out a grunt of frustration and then reared up, sniffing the air.

"It's not here," he said. His voice was low, guttural. Animal.

Behind the ruins of what had once been a pew, two figures crouched. The taller of the two, a shifter woman, clenched her fists and took a tentative step forward – only to be stopped by the other, a dwarf of about forty years.

"What are you doing?" the shifter said. "I am the _only_ one who can stop him!"

"Anya," the dwarf said, shoving something to her stomach, "securing the Scripture takes priority. You need to leave _now_."

Suddenly, the werewolf spoke. "I can _smell_ you two. Come out or I'll rip you to shreds." It was a wry joke on the werewolf's part, of course – if they came out, they'd be ripped to shreds anyway.

Anya's face paled. "I _must_ fight him, Oskar. They _must_ be avenged."

Oskar turned to Anya. In the moonlight's pale glow, she could see tears streaming down his face and beard. "If you let him take the Scripture, they will have died here for _nothing_ ," he said, his teeth clenched.

Anya boiled with rage for a moment, but then closed her eyes and sighed. She took what the man had shoved to her stomach and ran. The werewolf had barely begun to start after her when Oskar jumped in the way. In his left hand, the dwarf held up a scroll of paper.

"Creature! I challenge you to a duel!" Oskar took out his axe and pointed it at the werewolf. "You'll get this Scripture when I've gone to Dolurrh, monster!"

The werewolf seemed to grin in the moonlight, baring his fangs and claws. "Terms accepted."

Outside, Anya had barely mounted the horse when she heard the screaming begin. She bit back tears, then took the reins and galloped away.

The werewolf wiped his claws of Oskar's blood and picked up the scroll. Blood stained the paper as he opened it – as he watched blood splatter onto the symbol inscribed within, his teeth bared into a snarl.

He shredded the parchment to bits. "A fake. Smart."

By the time the beast had stepped out, Anya had already disappeared into the night. It did not matter. The Eldeen Reaches were vast, but he'd tracked onto her scent, and the nearest town was not a great distance away...


	2. Chapter 1

**Two Weeks Later**

 **Lanfear, Breland**

 **The Three-Eyed Goblin**

"…and _that's_ when the Prince of Frost told Fayden that he'd never leave the castle alive!" said Julie Highwind, as she swung a wooden sword upwards and planted her foot on a chair. "It was the darkest moment in Fayden's career. Years later, if you'd asked him how he'd made it alive, he'd tell you that he didn't remember!"

As the fireplace crackled, the children leaned in closer. "What happened next?" they said in unison; evidently, the question was a well-rehearsed one.

"Do you _really_ want to know what happened next?" Julie leaned in and gave them a wide-eyed, toothy, beaming smile. The children nodded.

Julie leaned back and crossed her arms. "Well, _too bad!_ My shift's coming up, kids!" she said, forcing out a hearty laugh. "See you tomorrow!"

"That's 'nough, all of you." A monocled goblin walked up to the crowd of children gathered around Julie and placed a few drinks on the adjacent table. "Julie, get back to work," he said, as he walked past the girl.

Julie's expression fell. "Yes, boss." She put her foot down and put the wooden sword away, eyeing for a moment the _real_ rapier that hung at her side. She'd never _used_ it, of course; it was just a warning to the handsier customers.

"That's 'Mr. Krenb' to you, lass." Krenb liked to put on small airs of importance like that – Julie figured it was just his way of compensating for being a goblin in a halfling-dominated enterprise. Not that he had much to be insecure about; the Three-Eyed Goblin was by far the most successful inn in Lanfear. Overall, it just served to make him look pretentious.

"Yes, Mr. Krenb." Julie put on another smile, very different from her previous one – this one had her eyes and mouth shut, and was as fake as a politician's. The children scampered back to their parents.

"Damn straight. Now, stop botherin' the little ones and get back to singin'." The goblin wagged his finger. "I don't pay you to tell made-up stories to kids, y'know."

"Yes, Mr. Krenb," Julie said, before breaking into the ninth rendition of _The Warforged and the Wooden Pail_ she'd done that week.

* * *

Julie felt a lock of her fair hair and sighed. At the rate she was going, she'd start going gray in a year. "What did I do to deserve this fate?" she said to no-one as she walked along Lanfear's streets. In her hands, she carried a small basket of tomatoes.

On a clear night like this, Julie Highwind had shown up in Lanfear without warning, and had not long after instated herself as the _Three-Eyed Goblin_ 's resident singer and errand girl. People whispered about her often – some thought she was a noblewoman fleeing an arranged marriage, others claimed that she was a changeling criminal trying to go straight. Whatever the case was, many felt as though she was an unwelcome guest in a town as tight-knit as Lanfear, and she knew it. But she earned her keep, and so was left alone.

Not that it didn't cost her. "Earning her keep" was taxing most days, but today it was _exhausting_. Not only had she had to punch in her usual hours, she had to go to market for him! The poor girl was being run ragged, but it was either working for him or becoming a streetwalker. Julie was just grateful that Krenb was decent, and that she wasn't doing both.

As she reminisced, she took a step backward – and failed to notice the tall figure making a collision course for her.

The two collided. Julie screamed and stumbled back, then dropped her basket; at the same time, the stranger dropped what she'd been holding. Tomatoes spilled onto the floor – Julie took a step forward to catch herself, but then slipped on a tomato and fell. Juice sprayed all over the pavement, spilling onto Julie's pants and onto whatever the stranger had dropped.

Julie grit her teeth and looked at the stranger. "Watch where you're going, you _idiot_ –"

Oh. A shifter.

"Apologies," the shifter said in a gravelly voice, instinctively reaching for what she'd dropped. Julie was closer, though, and grabbed it first – it was some sort of piece of paper, she found. She began to hand it over to the shifter, but her eye wandered over to it and her hand stopped.

In the everbright lantern's glow, she watched the stains on the scroll _disappear_. Becoming clearer was a symbol, one that sparked something inside Julie's brain…

"My paper, _please_ ," the shifter said. She yanked the scroll from Julie's hand. Julie scoffed. As if _she_ was the one at fault!

"Hmph. Thanks a lot, pal," Julie said, picking up the intact tomatoes and dropping them into the basket. "Now I gotta explain this to my boss, you –"

But the shifter was already pacing away from her. And just when she'd started to administer a tongue-lashing, too! Julie scoffed again, picked up the basket, and began her walk back to the tavern.

Now, _where_ had she seen that symbol before?

* * *

That night, the _Three-Eyed Goblin_ was aglow with the aura of chattering and small-talk that came with being the most popular inn in Lanfear. Waitresses swooped from table to table with drinks in their hands. Old friends gathered around to share gossip, strike deals, or gamble. But at the otherwise-empty counter, the tavern's proprietor and its singer were having an argument.

Krenb rubbed his temples. "You _spilled_ my _tomatoes?_ "

"Yes, but that's beside the point. The point is that I saw something that I _swore_ I've seen somewhere else before…"

"Julie…"

Julie's wide eyes were fixed upward. "…might've been in a library, in another pub, or in –"

" _Julie!_ "

Julie stopped and turned her head to Krenb. "Yeah?"

"You _spilled_ my _tomatoes_. I was going to _eat_ those!" Krenb said, as he scrubbed a tomato with a piece of cloth. "Do you _know_ how important to a goblin's diet tomatoes are?"

Julie winced; she didn't. "Sorry, Boss."

"If I wasn't short on staff as-is, I'd fire you _right here and now!_ "

There was a long silence as Julie looked down. Finally, Krenb sighed and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Look, Julie, I didn't – that was too far. I didn't mean that just now. You're a good kid."

Julie still didn't look at him.

"I couldn't fire you. You know more songs than I can count, for Dol Arrah's sake!" Krenb threw his hands in the air. "It's just that…you've got to stop chasing castles in the air, Julie. You're a good kid – you just need both feet on the ground, that's all."

Julie looked up at the ceiling. She didn't _want_ to keep both feet on the ground. She wanted to _fly_ , damn it! Fly away from this place and never look back.

The door swinging open cut Julie's brooding short. A tall, hooded woman strode through the inn and slammed a few silver pieces onto the counter, shaking it slightly. "I would like to rent a room for a day," she said in a gravelly voice.

If the tall woman's aim was to be discreet, she'd failed spectacularly. All the patrons' eyes were on her – Julie's especially. She'd heard that voice before, hadn't she?

Suddenly, something clicked in Julie's mind. She remembered where she'd heard that voice. She remembered where she'd seen that symbol.

Krenb was nonplussed. "Can I get you something to drink, miss?" he said, raising an eyebrow.

The tall woman sat at the counter. "Water."

"Gotcha." Krenb retreated to the back of the bar, leaving Julie and the tall woman alone with one another. A bead of sweat ran down Julie's face.

"So, uh…" Julie smiled a sheepish smile. "I think we've gotten off on the wrong foot, so to speak. I'm Julie."

From under the shifter's hood, wolf's eyes glared back at Julie. "I do not care," she said, baring her fangs. _Shit_. This plan was falling apart before it even got off ground!

Krenb returned with a jug and placed a cup of water on the bar. "One water for the missus, as requested. And _do_ be nicer to my singer."

"As you wish." The shifter grunted and took the cup, clearly displeased with the notion.

"Thank you. Now, terribly sorry, but we're kind of fully booked here –"

Julie slammed her hand on the counter; all eyes turned to her. "You can use my room," she said, no ounce of shame in her voice.

The room went silent after that, with only mutters of "that Highwind girl," "so daring," and other less pleasant words being passed around. Krenb nearly dropped the jug.

The shifter lifted an eyebrow. "And in exchange?"

Julie smiled – she knew that question was coming, evidently. "We talk."

* * *

As soon as the two were alone upstairs, the shifter grabbed Julie by the throat and hoisted her up as though she were a rag doll. "How much did he pay you?" she said, balling her free hand into a fist.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! What in Khyber are you talking about?" Julie's eyes went wide with shock. "I didn't get 'paid' anything!"

"You know who I mean." The shifter took a step forward and dangled Julie dangerously close to the window. "I should have known you were a spy from the beginning. You were trying to get the Scripture, were you not?"

"…that's what it's called?"

"Do not play the fool!" The shifter took another step forward.

"Listen, I don't know what you're talking about. I just wanted to talk." Julie held up both hands, but eyed the saber at her side. The shifter eyed it too, and tensed her fingers on Julie's throat.

"Nothing you do will make me surrender this to your master." The shifter took off her hood – in the light, Julie could see a chiseled, angular face. "Good men and women have _died_ for this."

Julie gulped – a difficult task through the stranglehold. "D-died?"

"Yes, you cretin. Did you not know the lengths that he would go to?"

"I think we're making a lot of false assumptions here." Julie waved her hands. "I don't know anything, honest!"

The shifter tensed her fingers on Julie's throat once more, then placed the girl back down, shifting her grip from throat to collar. "Hypothetically, let us say that you truly know nothing. What would you wish to talk to me about?"

Julie had to go with the truth. "The piece…of…paper?"

The shifter grunted. "You are _not_ making this easier."

"I don't know anything! I'm not employed by anyone!" Julie waved her hands again. "I swear, I have no idea!"

"Then why are you interested in it?"

"Because." Julie's eyes shone. "I've seen that symbol before."

The shifter's eyes widened. "Where?"

Just then, Julie yawned. "I'm tired," she said. "Let's talk about it in the morning."

The shifter pulled Julie closer and glared at her. "And why should I trust you? You have done _nothing_ to earn my goodwill!"

Julie smiled; once again, she knew the shifter would say that. "Because if you don't, you'll never know why that piece of paper's got Onax Ungol's personal rune written on it."

The shifter's eyes widened. "How do you know that name?"

"Trade secret."

The shifter spent a good while lost in thought before she decided to let go of Julie's collar. "I shall trust you for now. But I shall _not_ sleep, and you _will_ give me answers."

"Have it your way." Julie shrugged. "By the way, wanna be the big spoon or the little spoon? I'm the cuddly type, so if you feel anything weird in the middle of the night, that's probably me."

The shifter growled.

"Just kidding, sheesh. I'll sleep on the floor."

* * *

Julie turned on her side on the floor; through the wooden planks, she could hear Krenb arguing with a particularly rowdy farmer. She shut her eyes and, momentarily, wondered if it was all worth sleeping on the floor and being watched over by a possibly-insane shifter.

"I do not suppose you will be willing to talk now?" the shifter said, her voice clearly fatigued.

 _Khyber, she should just_ sleep _already_. "Nope. Too tired."

The shifter sighed. "Very well."

Julie turned to her other side and shut her eyes harder. In her mind's eye, she began to picture the symbol. Three circles, interlinked with one another, forming a triangle…and in the middle where they intersected, an eye.

Julie began to tremble at the thought – if her calculations were correct, she might have hit the proverbial dragon's hoard! One uncomfortable night didn't even compare to the prize that awaited her if this all worked out.

Her legs began to kick. _This just might be my ticket out of here_.

* * *

As promised, the shifter didn't sleep a wink. The first thing Julie did when she found out was roll her eyes – she really wasn't getting cut any slack, was she?

Krenb was waiting for her downstairs, ready with her favorite breakfast – a hefty serving of tomato pasta. As Julie scarfed down the meal, she wondered idly if he'd made it with the tomatoes she'd dropped the day before to spite her. Part of her pushed the thought to the back of her mind – surely, he couldn't be _that_ petty.

The sun shone faintly through the windows. Even from inside, the walls were thin enough for Julie to hear birdsong – she cringed. Birdsong was always her second least favorite thing about waking up in the morning. The first was having to serve customers early in the morning.

As Julie began her morning routine, the events of yesterday seemed to fade into the back of her mind. The shifter upstairs, the scroll, the mysterious symbol…all of them seemed like just another high-adventure dream she'd had to escape the banality of her life here. It appeared that she'd have to spend the rest of her days here, washing dishes and singing songs; at least, until –

For the second time, the door swung open and broke Julie's train of thought. She could hear a horse's steps outside, but the clacking of boots soon drowned it out. Julie turned around to look at the newcomer.

The first thing Julie noticed was his cape; reaching down from his shoulders to just above his feet, it billowed slightly in the morning breeze. The second was his height. He was tall, taller than the shifter – his shoulders were broad and square, and the faint outline of hard muscle showed from beneath his fine blue clothes. Gray streaks ran along his brown hair and beard, and a small cut ran along his left cheek.

The man walked up to the counter and cleared his throat. Krenb turned his head toward him. Slowly, Julie snuck behind him; he turned to her briefly, then turned back to the goblin.

"Good morning, Mr. Krenb. I'm with the Sentinel Marshals," the man said. He took a badge from under his coat – Julie's eyes scanned over it, skimming every detail, and she gulped. "I'm looking for a fugitive."

At the word "fugitive," Julie took a tentative step back. Her eyes wandered to the door, and she idly wondered whether she could outrun a Sentinel Marshal.

"We get a lot o' people around here. You'd gotta be more specific," Krenb said, but Julie knew that he was eyeing her already.

"Female shifter…"

Phew. Wait, _what?_

"…tall, short hair. Carries a scroll with her."

Krenb scratched his chin. "I don't know, Mr. Marshal. Maybe something extra will jog my memory…" Typical Krenb, trying to get a few more coins from the deal. Julie stepped forward; her eyes idly scanned the man's badge again. What –

 _Wait a minute_.

" _I'vegottopeegottogo!_ " said Julie. She made a beeline for the stairs and scampered up them, despite the nearest toilet being on the first floor. Krenb and the man both watched her scamper upstairs with no small amount of interest.

Julie practically burst into the room. The shifter's eyes opened – she'd almost fallen asleep, and had it not been for Julie's outburst, she _would_ have.

"There's someone looking for you downstairs. We need to get out of here," Julie said.

The shifter's eyes wandered to the window, then back to Julie. "What man? _What did he look like?_ "

Through the thin wooden floor, Julie could hear Krenb and the man negotiating over the price of his bribe. She groaned. "There's no time! We need to get out of here!"

"Wait." The shifter squinted. "Thus far, I have done nothing but threaten you. Why do you not believe that I am a criminal?"

Julie pointed down. "Because the man down _there_ isn't a Sentinel Marshal."


End file.
